CHINA, IL's Brad Neely and Daniel Weidenfeld: The CFQ Interview

Ronald Reagan is alive and disturbingly lucid in CHINA, IL.
Ronald Reagan is alive and disturbingly lucid in CHINA, IL.

Continuing its mission of lowering the standards of higher education, Adult Swim’s CHINA, IL is presently offering up its second season every Sunday night. Now expanded to a full half hour, the larger canvas has allowed creator/producer/composer/voice talent Brad Neely and executive producer Daniel Weidenfeld room to expand the adventures of the faculty and student populace of possibly the worst college ever, which doesn’t mean that things have gotten any less weird: Already, desperate professor Frank Smith has discovered himself capable of HIGHLANDER-like transformations; his brother Steve has gotten himself immersed in the Furry Underground, feline division; and sweet-natured, perennial undergrad Baby Cakes has decided to start up his own line of oddly flavored power bars. Things are definitely getting odd on the quad.
I got to talk with Neely and Weidenfeld about the show’s genesis; the challenges presented in its new, 30 minute running time; and the complexities of meeting each episode’s musical demands. Click on the player to hear the show.